Monday, February 28, 2011

After taking M out for dinner (stay tuned tomorrow for that post) we were invited by his birthday sharing friend to go to the CD release show for two local musicians: Sean Rowe and Railbird.

Sean Rowe opened his set with accompaniment by three members of Railbird.

The space where the show took place was really neat, it's an old church converted into a performance / art space.

Sean Rowe was celebrating the official release of his new record on Anti, pretty awesome accomplishment! Anti has a roster of some of today's best bands, he's in good company!

Railbird is from Saratoga, NY. They kind of remind me of female fronted, experimental psychedelic pop rock...at times reminiscent of Blonde Redhead. Their set was definitely captivating.

After the show, we headed right for Biergarten because M and his friend wanted to share birthday boots when the 25th turned into the 26th. But the Biergarten has a strict policy that even if it's past midnight, you can't get your birthday boot beer until the EVENING of your birthday...which meant the bartender would serve M's friend, but refused to give M a birthday boot unless we came back saturday night. So, disappointed, the boys decided to skip the boot, and both just got giant beers instead. We did NOT go back saturday night to get M a boot.

We were there late, and it was a snowy night, so the place was pretty empty. Which was great for me, because I was finally able to take this clear photo of my favorite corner of the room. Love the stacked wood and antelope head!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

...lazy Sunday with turkey tacos....decided to start insuring all of my etsy orders since the post office has managed to lose about a dozen on me since Christmas time :/...started another round of Beachbody Insanity with M. I want to get into a bikini this summer!!...had a dream that I won $75,000 on a slot machine. I wish!!...stupidly drove to work in a major snowstorm, then ended up leaving early anyway....took M to a sushi buffet for his bday dinner...unexpectedly went to a show & the biergarten...baked German chocolate cupcakes for M's birthday.

...dinner with my family and M....won Sherri's sweet giveaway! ...surprise sushi date for Valentine's Day....met the cutest little cat at the mechanic shop when we picked up M's van....went to see Colour Revolt and say 'hi' to M's friend from Memphis who is on tour with them....bought up a TON of candy hearts on clearance to use for new CAPow! Shop prints....caught a glimpse of spring, and I like what I saw!...won Ginger Mandy's Shabby Apple dress giveaway!...hung out with friends and a bon fire for M's pre- bday bash....finally bit the bullet and did my taxes.

The Valentine I hand painted for M. (It looks much better in real life, I promise)

After our sushi dinner we went to the market and picked up some strawberries and chocolate to make these delicious bad boys. If there was ever a good reason to break a diet, chocolate covered strawberries are totally it!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

This weekend we finally accomplished one of our long time goals: brunch with Kelly and Matt at one of their favorite breakfast spots: The Iron Gate Cafe.

This was our first time at the Iron Gate, and we were really impressed with the quirky dining layout and the brunch specials. I wish that they had a little more variety though, most of their options were egg based dishes. A few french toast or waffle options would make this place even better.

I had the Bacado Omelet, which is filled with cheese, salsa, avacado, and bacon. It was delicious!

M had the Memphis Scramble, which was also delicious. Look at that cornbread!

And we made sure to take advantage of something the Iron Gate offers that you usually can't get at the diners we frequent: Mimosas. They were a little heavy handed on the champagne, but I'm not complaining!

Monday, February 14, 2011

To celebrate Valentine's Day, we're bringing you our largest sponsored giveaway to date! Please check out the awesome sponsors who are generous enough to bring you this giveaway!

Don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the post to enter our February Giveaway!

Hi, I'm Katie Brown and my Etsy shop is Anamorphicecho.
I am 26, and I live in Kansas City, MO with my awesome cat, Dmitriy. I love to travel, and am hoping to be able to do more of it in the future. My mom is my best friend, and I am currently trying to teach her to knit, and am hoping to learn crochet from her.

I have been knitting off and on for about three years, but I have only started seriously knitting in the last few months. Knitting is incredibly relaxing, and it feels great to complete a project, especially a challenging one.

I find most of my inspiration on the internet. I sometimes spend hours surfing for cool patterns. Seeing all the other great knitters on Etsy really inspires me to become better, as well.

I listen to anything from Bob Marley, to Queen, to modern stuff like AWOLnation. My favorite television shows are How I Met Your Mother and Bones. The only thing I geek out over more than knitting is Harry Potter, I should really combine the two! One of my favorite blogs is blog.shrinkle.com - she loves her cats as much as I do, and she is incredibly talented, to boot!

-I've only been on Etsy a few weeks, and I am really excited to start expanding my shop and creating more items. I am super grateful to windshielddiaries for featuring me in her blog. Thanks everyone, and happy shopping!

Well, I'm the youngest of seven, and new mommy and bride-to-be! My mother was a fashion designer that dropped everything after she had children, and my dad was an interior designer and painter.

I wish I could say that my mother taught me to sew, but she didn't. She didn't trust me to touch her machine, lol. So I had to wait for the trial and error of college life to learn how to sew, but I have always loved paper crafts and would practice them regularly as a child. As for drawing, that was something that I did only because my older sister loved to and I wanted to do something with her and have fun (she doesn't draw anymore though...bummers).

Right now I make handbags, stationary, and hair accessories.

The journey into selling my pieces truly started in 2007 right after I graduated from high school, out of a need to relive the onslaught of everyday stress. My life had fallen apart and I was determined to pick up what was left and make something out of it. With lots of support from family and friends I worked hard to make something of myself with my own two hands. In the beginning plans fell apart regularly, but I was determined not to let anything stop me.

Inspiration for me is found through everyday life! Sometimes even from crafting mishaps (those are my faves).

It is so hard to choose favorites but I would have to say that right now I'm really loving all things wedding related, lol. I'm getting ready for mine, and I seriously couldn't be more excited!

I hope that everyone can see a tid bit into my life and process :) Just so you know that my biggest goal yet is to meet Martha Stewart....and I will!

I am a wife to Owen & a mother to Cash Lincoln, I recently quit my full time job (at a law firm) to stay at home again. We are preparing to travel the country as a family with my husband's music, which you can check out here.

I design accessories, clothing, & home wares and sell vintage clothing. I also model on the side every once in a while. I have been designing & crafting for almost 10 years. And I do it because I honestly can't see myself doing anything else--it is something I have tried to suppress for a "real" job but that never lasts long!

I get so inspired from my everyday life, I also love spending time discovering other cultures, obscure artists and seeing new places. I try to implement the idea that good design should be available to everyone.

One of the biggest reasons we are going on the road is to share life and Owen's music with others! It is one of our absolute favorite things to make friends with new people and discover new places. I would be so excited if you would come out while we are on the road and said "hi" (current tour dates here) We are also working on tour dates on the East/West Coasts--if you live in these areas or know of a great place that we should visit or that Owen should play, please let me know! (jillianpye at gmail dot com)

Jillian is generous enough to offer our giveaway winner their choice of ONE of the following headbands:

Sunday, February 13, 2011

...did NOT watch even 1 second of the Super Bowl....beer & friends....so close to having one credit card paid off....authentic Italian Chicken Parm from M's aunt....cuddled with the cats and watched Mad Men while M was at work....getting closer and closer to two of my major life goals.